ResNet Acceptable Use Policy

Introduction and Coverage of Service

Introduction

Through a joint effort between Housing, Dining, and Hospitality (HDH), Administrative Computing and Telecommunications (ACT), and Academic Computing and Media Services (ACMS), high-speed data service is provided in on-campus residences via the Residential Networking system (ResNet). Your agreement to the following points in this Acceptable Use Policy is required to use the ResNet network.

Locations

Access to the ResNet network is provided in residential housing located in the six undergraduate colleges, The Village at Torrey Pines transfer student housing, and the graduate student housing located in Warren College and Coast Apartments.

Each student is given, except where noted:

Wireless access in the common areas.

Note

Wireless access is NOT guaranteed in the bedrooms. There may be some bleedover from the access points in the common room, but this is NOT guaranteed.
Wireless access is NOT provided in the Coast Apartments. If students living in the Coast Apartments wish to get wireless, you may register a router with ResNet. Please contact ResNet for further details.

One (1) Ethernet port located in the student bedrooms

Note

If there are more students than active ports in the room (e.g.: three students live in one room with only two active ports), you may rent out a network switch from ResNet at no additional cost. Please contact ResNet for further details.

Purpose

The primary purpose of ResNet is to provide access to UCSD's electronic resources and educational / research related material on the Internet.

Personal use is expected and encouraged on the ResNet network, as long as it does not interfere with another user's ability to connect to the ResNet network or violate any portion of the Acceptable Use Policy. Please note that personal use is NOT the primary objective of the ResNet network.

Enforcement

As an Internet Service Provider (ISP), ResNet is committed to enforcing its policies. The Acceptable Use Policy draws heavily from the policies mentioned in Section VIII, "Other Relevant Policies," and a violation of these mentioned policies while on the ResNet network will also be considered a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy.

Violations

General violations of this Acceptable Use Policy, if not addressed under the appropriate section, will be handled individually, based on the nature of the violation and if this is a case of recidivism. Most general violations will be handled in this way, but ResNet makes no guarantee as to if your particular violation will be treated in the same manner.

First Violation

Your connection will be blocked and you will be contacted by an ACMS Help Desk / ResNet representative, usually over email, with remediation steps.

Once these steps have been completed, your connection will be restored.

For all intents and purposes, the first violation will be considered a warning.

Second Violation

Your connection will be blocked again and you will be contacted by an ACMS Help Desk / ResNet representative, usually over email, with remediation steps.

You will typically be required to speak with an ACMS Help Desk supervisor regarding the violation.

Egregious violations will be sent to the Office of Student Conduct for follow up.

ResNet will determine when your connection is restored. This is at the discretion of ACMS Help Desk supervisors, typically the ResNet coordinator.

Third Violation

You will typically be required to speak with an ACMS Help Desk supervisor regarding the violation

Egregious violations will be sent to the Office of Student Conduct for follow up.

ResNet Registration and Authentication

Registration Requirements

You must register your network devices each year you live in one of the areas mentioned above, under "Locations". You are required to provide accurate registration information in the event that ResNet needs to contact you with critical information regarding your network connection.

ResNet Policy Key

To assist in enforcing the Acceptable Use Policy, a ResNet Policy Key (Policy Key) is required to access the ResNet network. Both Microsoft Windows (Windows) and Apple Macintosh (Mac) machines must install and run the Policy Key to successfully connect to the ResNet network. Failure to install or removal of the Policy Key will automatically result in your computer being unable to connect to the ResNet network.

Authentication

All devices connected to the ResNet network must authenticate with a valid Active Directory username and password (your UCSD email address without the '@ucsd.edu' and email password) unless otherwise explicitly stated.

User Responsibilities

Extent of Liability

You will be held responsible for any and all network traffic generated by any network device registered and / or authenticated with your username. It is your responsibility to seek advice from ResNet about any situation that you feel may violate any policies.

Accountability

You will be held accountable for violations of policies mentioned here, regardless of whether you:

Generated the traffic

Were aware of the traffic

Are aware of the policy violation

Prohibited Activities

Limitations of Activity

The performance of normal business, research, education, and other vital functions is dependent upon the appropriate use of the ResNet and UCSD network. To maintain this performance, the activities below are strictly prohibited. Please note that many of these activities are caused by inaction rather than action.

Any intentional or unintentional action that impairs the overall function of the network.

Any intentional or unintentional action that produces an excessive load on the network.

Any intentional or unintentional action that would deny or impair network service to another system or user.

Any intentional or unintentional distribution of computer viruses or malware.

Operation of any unauthorized server.

Any action that violates Federal or State law or any other University policy.

Providing a service or distributing any product for a fee.

Providing access to University facilities to non-University affiliates.

Scanning any systems or networks other than the devices registered to you.

Forging or attempting to hide your identity while using ResNet, including manually changing the Media Access Control (MAC) address or Internet Protocol (IP) address of any device connected to the ResNet network.

Copyright Law and Enforcement

Copyright Law

It is illegal to distribute copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright owner, as noted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1999. Most material that is available through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software, such as movies, television shows, and music, is not legal to download and distribute.

Enforcement

In the event that ResNet is notified of a copyright violation against a device registered / authenticated under your username, ResNet will take the following actions for the violation. These vary for first, second, and third violations.

First Violation

Your connection is blocked from accessing the network until your computer is brought into ResNet for a security scan and meets the UCSD Minimum Network Connection Standards. You are given the option to be unblocked at this time.

You are required to attend a Copyright Violation Presentation within 30 days of completing the security scan. You are allowed to attend the presentation before doing the security scan. Failure to attend will result in the suspension of your network connection.

You must reply to the Copyright Violation Agreement, located in the email sent to you in the event of a violation. You must reply within 72 hours of attending the presentation. You are allowed to reply before attending the presentation. Failure to do so will result in the suspension of your network connection.

Second Violation

All actions from a first violation, except for #3, will apply in addition to the following:

You will be required to meet with an ACMS Help Desk supervisor to discuss the violation.

Your case is referred to the Office of Student Conduct and they will institute the following:

You may be subject to sanctions as laid out in the UCSD Student Conduct Code. These may include fines, disciplinary probation, essay, and / or ethics class.

A disciplinary record is created and added to your permanent student record.

Third Violation

All actions from a second violation will apply in addition to the following:

An Officer of Student Conduct will determine if additional sanctions are required. These may include extended disciplinary probation, additional fines, and / or suspension from the University.

Your network connection is blocked permanently, unless extreme circumstances exist. These are handled on a case-by-case basis and you are given no guarantee as to the restoration of your network connection.

Security Software

ResNet requires that antivirus and firewall software be active and updated on all devices connected to the ResNet network. It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer is compliant with this policy.

Updated Operating System and Software

You must keep the operating system and software updated on devices registered or authenticated to you. If the operating system is not under active support by the software manufacturer, your device will not meet the standards of an updated operating system. Updates are provided through the software manufacturer on a regular basis to patch security vulnerabilities. Ignoring these updates can and will leave your computer open to attack and may place your computer as a violator of Federal or State law, or University policies. Please note that though you may not be the one actively participating in these violations, you will be held responsible for these violations.

Computer Passwords and Access Control

To prevent unauthorized access to your computer, strong passphrase authentication must be used on your computers for any and all access. We recommend using a passphrase (a collection of several words) rather than a password, as a passphrase takes longer to crack and is often easier to remember.

You can use the following tips to create a secure passphrase:

Do not use a famous phrase or well-known quote.

Make sure that you are the only one who can remember the phrase.

Use characters from at least three of the four categories:

Lower case letters (abcde...)

Upper case letters (ABCDE...)

Numbers (12345...)

Non-alphanumeric Characters (!@#$%...)

You must set your devices to log off or lock if left unattended for a period of time. Because you will be held responsible for any traffic generated from any device under your username, locking your computer after a period of time will mitigate unauthorized access.

Enforcement

The ResNet Policy Key will actively verify that these requirements are satisfied. If these requirements are not met, your computer will be denied access to the ResNet network.

Network Monitoring and Mitigation

Monitoring Techniques

To ensure the ResNet network is running at optimum efficiency, ResNet, in conjunction with Network Security, monitors the ResNet network for vulnerable or infected computers and / or abuse of resources. This is done through a combination of different techniques, including:

IP Sourcing: The starting and terminating IP addresses of a connection are checked against a black list of known viral hosts. If any of these IP addresses match a known viral host, the computer is quarantined.

ResNet Policy Key: ResNet will use the Policy Key software to ensure devices on the network meet the UCSD Minimum Network Security Standards before granting access to the ResNet network.

High Resource Usage: Abnormally high load on the ResNet network is also flagged and your device may be blocked. In these cases, you may be contacted by ResNet to either modify or suspend the activity that caused the load.

Network Suspension and Blocking

ResNet reserves the right to immediately block your connection without prior warning or notification. If your computer is blocked under this circumstance, ResNet may notify you why your computer was blocked along with remediation options.

Other Relevant Policies

As mentioned in "Introduction and Coverage of Service: Enforcement," your acceptance of this Acceptable Use Policy and use of the ResNet network also includes your acceptance and compliance with the following policies.

Contact and Questions

ResNet is available to assist you with questions or concerns you have regarding this Acceptable Use Policy and/or responsible computing. We are more than happy to assist you in answering a particular concern or issue.